Agriculture

This extensively illustrated volume is a guide to the 270 species of bees in Britain. It will certainly establish itself as the key volume in this area of interest. The volume will allow readers to identify all of the bees in Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands. It provides the latest information on ecology, status and distribution and furnishes colour illustrations and photographs that cover an impressive proportion of the species.

For Beekeepers to be able now to rely, for an indefinite number of years to come, upon the regular annual availability, in May and June, of a huge new nectar source, is for them an historic advance. The pattern of working through the beekeeping year is changed by it and a new yearly flow of nectar and honey is in prospect with a yield comparable to that from the heather.

This the first of a series of booklets which gather together the contributions by leading beekeepers to The Beekeepers Quarterly. Ron Brown OBE, B.Sc was a most practical beekeeper with experience in both in Africa and the UK. These articles cover all aspects of the craft and serve as a fine memorial to a great beekeeper as well as passing on his hard gained knowledge to a new generation of beekeepers.

This collection of articles from The Beekeepers Quarterly, over a period of ten years, gather together the words of wisdom by a Great American Beekeeper. There is much that can be learnt from this reading this slim volume that will improve all beekeeping practice..Researcher, commercial beekeeper and finally bee geneticists – with experience in both America and Europe it was said of Steve that if he said it – ‘it was correct’.

This booklet originally published by the Welsh Beekeepers Association this title is meant for those with two or three hives who wish to make small increases without influencing the eventual honey crop.

Not so long ago, in a small island nation in the South Pacific, beekeepers produced a most peculiar honey. It was much darker than clover honey everyone put on their toast in the morning, and it tasted very different. In fact the honey was a problem: it was hard to get out of the combs, and even harder for beekeepers to sell. This book chronicles the remarkable ‘rags –to-riches’ story of manuka honey, as seen through the eyes of a New Zealand beekeeping specialist who watched it unfold from the very beginning.

This booklet is intended to raise awareness and promote beekeeping, among people and organisations involved in supporting small-scale farming as a successful diversification enterprise that small-scale farmers in rural, urban and urban centres can integrate into their farming systems easily. This publication is by the Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division of The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and is particularly intended for their clients.

This book is a reliable and fascinating guide to one o f Borneo’s natural wonders – the diversity o f honey bees, their intriguing societies and their adaptations to the complex tropical environment. The admirable harmony of their social life , the precision of their combs and the richness of their honey stores are described, as well as the honey bee’s defence strategies against strong bears, fast flying birds and minute mites.
An array of unique, spectacular photographs allows the reader to visit the giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) in the canopy of the highest Koompassia trees and witness painful bee stings penetrating deeper and deeper into the skin. Unique in the animal kingdom are magnificent assemblies of thousands of drone s which, far from the safety of their nests, circle high in the air waiting for the arrival of a single virgin queen. The out standing taste and quality of honey of indigenous Asian bees is acknowledged and its unjustified degrading by honey standards of the western Apis mellifera is exposed. Sustainable keeping of indigenous bees for honey production in Asia must gain more momentum! The knowledge and aware ness disseminated by this book will undoubtedly help to protect native honey bees and their habitats in Borneo and elsewhere!

Apiculture for the 21st Century is the account of a symposium held to record the retirement of Professor Roger Hoopingarner from Michigan State University. As such it is a carefully constructed review of current research efforts and future possibilities.